Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “error analysis”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 739 records · Page 41

Convergence Study in Global Sensitivity Analysis

Monte Carlo (MC) sampling is a common method used to randomly sample a range of scenarios. The associated error follows a predictable rate of convergence of $1/\sqrt{N}$, such that quadrupling the sample size halves the error. This method is often employed in performing global sensitivity analysis which computes sensitivity indices, measuring fractional contributions of uncertain model inputs to the total output variance. In this study, several models are used to observe the rate of decay in the MC error in the estimation of the conditional variance, the total variance in the output, and the global sensitivity indices. The purpose is to examine the rate of convergence of the error in existing specialized, albeit MC-based, sampling methods for estimation of the sensitivity indices. It was found that the conditional variances and sensitivity indices all follow the $1/\sqrt{N}$ convergence rate. Future work will test the convergence of observables from more complex models such as ignition time in combustion.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Two-pion contribution to hadronic vacuum polarization

We present a detailed analysis of e + e - → π + π - data up to \( \sqrt{s}=1 \) GeV in the framework of dispersion relations. Starting from a family of ππ P -wave phase shifts, as derived from a previous Roy-equation analysis of ππ scattering, we write down an extended Omnès representation of the pion vector form factor in terms of a few free parameters and study to which extent the modern high-statistics data sets can be described by the resulting fit function that follows from general principles of QCD. We find that statistically acceptable fits do become possible as soon as potential uncertainties in the energy calibration are taken into account, providing a strong cross check on the internal consistency of the data sets, but preferring a mass of the ω meson significantly lower than the current PDG average. In addition to a complete treatment of statistical and systematic errors propagated from the data, we perform a comprehensive analysis of the systematic errors in the dispersive representation and derive the consequences for the two-pion contribution to hadronic vacuum polarization. In a global fit to both time- and space-like data sets we find a ππ μ | ≤ 1 GeV = 495.0(1.5)(2.1) × 10 -10 and a ππ μ | ≤ 0.63 GeV = 132.8(0.4)(1.0) × 10 -10 . While the constraints are thus most stringent for low energies, we obtain uncertainty estimates throughout the whole energy range that should prove valuable in corroborating the corresponding contribution to the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon. As side products, we obtain improved constraints on the ππ P -wave, valuable input for future global analyses of low-energy ππ scattering, as well as a determination of the pion charge radius, $\langle$$r^{2}_{π}$$\rangle$ = 0 . 429(1)(4) fm 2 .

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Analysis of Radiocarbon, Stable Isotopes and DNA in Teeth to Facilitate Identification of Unknown Decedents

The characterization of unidentified bodies or suspected human remains is a frequent and important task for forensic investigators. However, any identification method requires clues to the person’s identity to allow for comparisons with missing persons. If such clues are lacking, information about the year of birth, sex and geographic origin of the victim, is particularly helpful to aid in the identification casework and limit the search for possible matches. We present here results of stable isotope analysis of 13 C and 18 O, and bomb-pulse 14 C analyses that can help in the casework. The 14 C analysis of enamel provided information of the year of birth with an average absolute error of 1.8±1.3 years. We also found that analysis of enamel and root from the same tooth can be used to determine if the 14 C values match the rising or falling part of the bomb-curve. Enamel laydown times can be used to estimate the date of birth of individuals, but here we show that this detour is unnecessary when using a large set of crude 14 C data of tooth enamel as a reference. The levels of 13 C in tooth enamel were higher in North America than in teeth from Europe and Asia, and Mexican teeth showed even higher levels than those from USA. DNA analysis was performed on 28 teeth, and provided individual-specific profiles in most cases and sex determination in all cases. In conclusion, these analyses can dramatically limit the number of possible matches and hence facilitate person identification work.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

SU-E-J-119: What Effect Have the Volume Defined in the Alignment Clipbox for Cervical Cancer Using Automatic Registration Methods for Cone- Beam CT Verification?

Purpose: To investigate the impact of different clipbox volumes with automated registration techniques using commercially available software with on board volumetric imaging(OBI) for treatment verification in cervical cancer patients. Methods: Fifty cervical cancer patients received daily CBCT scans(on-board imaging v1.5 system, Varian Medical Systems) during the first treatment week and weekly thereafter were included this analysis. A total of 450 CBCT scans were registered to the planning CTscan using pelvic clipbox(clipbox-Pelvic) and around PTV clip box(clipbox- PTV). The translations(anterior-posterior, left-right, superior-inferior) and the rotations(yaw, pitch and roll) errors for each matches were recorded. The setup errors and the systematic and random errors for both of the clip-boxes were calculated. Paired Samples t test was used to analysis the differences between clipbox-Pelvic and clipbox-PTV. Results: . The SD of systematic error(σ) was 1.0mm, 2.0mm,3.2mm and 1.9mm,2.3mm, 3.0mm in the AP, LR and SI directions for clipbox-Pelvic and clipbox-PTV, respectively. The average random error(Σ)was 1.7mm, 2.0mm,4.2mm and 1.7mm,3.4mm, 4.4mm in the AP, LR and SI directions for clipbox-Pelvic and clipbox-PTV, respectively. But, only the SI direction was acquired significantly differences between two image registration volumes(p=0.002,p=0.01 for mean and SD). For rotations, the yaw mean/SD and the pitch SD were acquired significantly differences between clipbox-Pelvic and clipbox-PTV. Conclusion: The defined volume for Image registration is important for cervical cancer when 3D/3D match was used. The alignment clipbox can effect the setup errors obtained. Further analysis is need to determine the optimal defined volume to use the image registration in cervical cancer. Conflict of interest: none.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

The BOSS bispectrum analysis at one loop from the Effective Field Theory of Large-Scale Structure

Abstract We analyze the BOSS power spectrum monopole and quadrupole, and the bispectrum monopole and quadrupole data, using the predictions from the Effective Field Theory of Large-Scale Structure (EFTofLSS). Specifically, we use the one loop prediction for the power spectrum and the bispectrum monopole, and the tree level for the bispectrum quadrupole. After validating our pipeline against numerical simulations as well as checking for several internal consistencies, we apply it to the observational data. We find that analyzing the bispectrum monopole to higher wavenumbers thanks to the one-loop prediction, as well as the addition of the tree-level quadrupole, significantly reduces the error bars with respect to our original analysis of the power spectrum at one loop and bispectrum monopole at tree level. After fixing the spectral tilt to Planck preferred value and using a Big Bang Nucleosynthesis prior, we measureσ 8 = 0.794 ± 0.037,h = 0.692 ± 0.011, and Ω m = 0.311 ± 0.010 to about 4.7%, 1.6%, and 3.2%, at 68% CL, respectively.This represents an error bar reduction with respect to the power spectrum-only analysis of about 30%, 18%, and 13% respectively. Remarkably, the results are compatible with the ones obtained with a power-spectrum-only analysis, showing the power of the EFTofLSS in simultaneously predicting several observables. We find no tension with Planck.

Astronomy & Astrophysics↗

WE-E-201-01: Use and Abuse of Common Statistics in Radiological Physics

Physicists are often expected to have a solid grounding in experimental design and statistical analysis, sometimes filling in when biostatisticians or other experts are not available for consultation. Unfortunately, graduate education on these topics is seldom emphasized and few opportunities for continuing education exist. Clinical physicists incorporate new technology and methods into their practice based on published literature. A poor understanding of experimental design and analysis could Result in inappropriate use of new techniques. Clinical physicists also improve current practice through quality initiatives that require sound experimental design and analysis. Academic physicists with a poor understanding of design and analysis may produce ambiguous (or misleading) results. This can Result in unnecessary rewrites, publication rejection, and experimental redesign (wasting time, money, and effort). This symposium will provide a practical review of error and uncertainty, common study designs, and statistical tests. Instruction will primarily focus on practical implementation through examples and answer questions such as: where would you typically apply the test/design and where is the test/design typically misapplied (i.e., common pitfalls)? An analysis of error and uncertainty will also be explored using biological studies and associated modeling as a specific use case. Learning Objectives: Understand common experimental testing and clinical trial designs, what questions they can answer, and how to interpret the results Determine where specific statistical tests are appropriate and identify common pitfalls Understand the how uncertainty and error are addressed in biological testing and associated biological modeling.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Machine Learning Based Multi-Physical-Model Blending for Enhancing Renewable Energy Forecast -- Improvement via Situation Dependent Error Correction

With increasing penetration of solar and wind energy to the total energy supply mix, the pressing need for accurate energy forecasting has become well-recognized. Here we report the development of a machine-learning based model blending approach for statistically combining multiple meteorological models for improving the accuracy of solar/wind power forecast. Importantly, we demonstrate that in addition to parameters to be predicted (such as solar irradiance and power), including additional atmospheric state parameters which collectively define weather situations as machine learning input provides further enhanced accuracy for the blended result. Functional analysis of variance shows that the error of individual model has substantial dependence on the weather situation. The machine-learning approach effectively reduces such situation dependent error thus produces more accurate results compared to conventional multi-model ensemble approaches based on simplistic equally or unequally weighted model averaging. Validation over an extended period of time results show over 30% improvement in solar irradiance/power forecast accuracy compared to forecasts based on the best individual model.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

Quantitative measurement for the microstructural parameters of nano-precipitates in Al-Mg-Si-Cu alloys

Size, number density and volume fraction of nano-precipitates are important microstructural parameters controlling the strengthening of materials. In this work a widely accessible, convenient, moderately time efficient method with acceptable accuracy and precision has been provided for measurement of volume fraction of nano-precipitates in crystalline materials. The method is based on the traditional but highly accurate technique of measuring foil thickness via convergent beam electron diffraction. A new equation is proposed and verified with the aid of 3-dimensional atom probe (3DAP) analysis, to compensate for the additional error resulted from the hardly distinguishable contrast of too short incomplete precipitates cut by the foil surface. The method can be performed on a regular foil specimen with a modern LaB{sub 6} or field-emission-gun transmission electron microscope. Precisions around ± 16% have been obtained for precipitate volume fractions of needle-like β″/C and Q precipitates in an aged Al-Mg-Si-Cu alloy. The measured number density is close to that directly obtained using 3DAP analysis by a misfit of 4.5%, and the estimated precision for number density measurement is about ± 11%. The limitations of the method are also discussed. - Highlights: •A facile method for measuring volume fraction of nano-precipitates based on CBED •An equation to compensate for small invisible precipitates, with 3DAP verification •Precisions around ± 16% for volume fraction and ± 11% for number density.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

SU-E-CAMPUS-J-05: Quantitative Investigation of Random and Systematic Uncertainties From Hardware and Software Components in the Frameless 6DBrainLAB ExacTrac System

Purpose: To evaluate setup accuracy and quantify individual systematic and random errors for the various hardware and software components of the frameless 6D-BrainLAB ExacTrac system. Methods: 35 patients with cranial lesions, some with multiple isocenters (50 total lesions treated in 1, 3, 5 fractions), were investigated. All patients were simulated with a rigid head-and-neck mask and the BrainLAB localizer. CT images were transferred to the IPLAN treatment planning system where optimized plans were generated using stereotactic reference frame based on the localizer. The patients were setup initially with infrared (IR) positioning ExacTrac system. Stereoscopic X-ray images (XC: X-ray Correction) were registered to their corresponding digitally-reconstructed-radiographs, based on bony anatomy matching, to calculate 6D-translational and rotational (Lateral, Longitudinal, Vertical, Pitch, Roll, Yaw) shifts. XC combines systematic errors of the mask, localizer, image registration, frame, and IR. If shifts were below tolerance (0.7 mm translational and 1 degree rotational), treatment was initiated; otherwise corrections were applied and additional X-rays were acquired to verify patient position (XV: X-ray Verification). Statistical analysis was used to extract systematic and random errors of the different components of the 6D-ExacTrac system and evaluate the cumulative setup accuracy. Results: Mask systematic errors (translational; rotational) were the largest and varied from one patient to another in the range (−15 to 4mm; −2.5 to 2.5degree) obtained from mean of XC for each patient. Setup uncertainty in IR positioning (0.97,2.47,1.62mm;0.65,0.84,0.96degree) was extracted from standard-deviation of XC. Combined systematic errors of the frame and localizer (0.32,−0.42,−1.21mm; −0.27,0.34,0.26degree) was extracted from mean of means of XC distributions. Final patient setup uncertainty was obtained from the standard deviations of XV (0.57,0.77,0.67mm,0.39,0.35,0.30degree). Conclusion: Statistical analysis was used to calculate cumulative and individual systematic errors from the different hardware and software components of the 6D-ExacTrac-system. Patients were treated with cumulative errors (<1mm,<1degree) with XV image guidance.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Measurement of breast tissue composition with dual energy cone-beam computed tomography: A postmortem study

Purpose: To investigate the feasibility of a three-material compositional measurement of water, lipid, and protein content of breast tissue with dual kVp cone-beam computed tomography (CT) for diagnostic purposes. Methods: Simulations were performed on a flat panel-based computed tomography system with a dual kVp technique in order to guide the selection of experimental acquisition parameters. The expected errors induced by using the proposed calibration materials were also estimated by simulation. Twenty pairs of postmortem breast samples were imaged with a flat-panel based dual kVp cone-beam CT system, followed by image-based material decomposition using calibration data obtained from a three-material phantom consisting of water, vegetable oil, and polyoxymethylene plastic. The tissue samples were then chemically decomposed into their respective water, lipid, and protein contents after imaging to allow direct comparison with data from dual energy decomposition. Results: Guided by results from simulation, the beam energies for the dual kVp cone-beam CT system were selected to be 50 and 120 kVp with the mean glandular dose divided equally between each exposure. The simulation also suggested that the use of polyoxymethylene as the calibration material for the measurement of pure protein may introduce an error of -11.0%. However, the tissue decomposition experiments, which employed a calibration phantom made out of water, oil, and polyoxymethylene, exhibited strong correlation with data from the chemical analysis. The average root-mean-square percentage error for water, lipid, and protein contents was 3.58% as compared with chemical analysis. Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that the water, lipid, and protein contents can be accurately measured using dual kVp cone-beam CT. The tissue compositional information may improve the sensitivity and specificity for breast cancer diagnosis.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗

SU-E-T-510: Mathematical Analysis of Approximate Biological Effective Dose (BED) Calculation for Multi-Phase Radiotherapy Treatment Plans

Purpose: There is growing interest about biological effective dose (BED) and its application in treatment plan evaluation due to its stronger correlation with treatment outcome. An approximate biological effective dose (BEDA) equation was introduced to simplify BED calculations by treatment planning systems in multi-phase treatments. The purpose of this work is to reveal its mathematical properties relative to the true, multi-phase BED (BEDT) equation. Methods: The BEDT equation was derived and used to reveal the mathematical properties of BEDA. MATLAB (MathWorks, Natick, MA) was used to simulate and analyze common and extreme clinical multi-phase cases. In those cases, percent error (Perror) and Bland-Altman analysis were used to study the significance of the inaccuracies of BEDA for different combinations of total doses, numbers of fractions, doses per fractions and α over β values. All the calculations were performed on a voxel-basis in order to study how dose distributions would affect the accuracy of BEDA. Results: When the voxel dose-per-fractions (DPF) delivered by both phases are equal, BEDA and BEDT are equal. In heterogeneous dose distributions, which significantly vary between the phases, there are fewer occurrences of equal DPFs and hence the imprecision of BEDA is greater. It was shown that as the α over β ratio increased the accuracy of BEDA would improve. Examining twenty-four cases, it was shown that the range of DPF ratios for a 3 Perror varied from 0.32 to 7.50Gy, whereas for Perror of 1 the range varied from 0.50 to 2.96Gy. Conclusion: The DPF between the different phases should be equal in order to render BEDA accurate. OARs typically receive heterogeneous dose distributions hence the probability of equal DPFs is low. Consequently, the BEDA equation should only be used for targets or OARs that receive uniform or very similar dose distributions by the different treatment phases.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗

Adaptive immersed isogeometric level-set topology optimization

Here, this paper presents for the first time an adaptive immersed approach for level-set topology optimization using higher-order truncated hierarchical B-spline discretizations for design and state variable fields. Boundaries and interfaces are represented implicitly by the iso-contour of one or multiple level-set functions. An immersed finite element method, the eXtended IsoGeometric Analysis, is used to predict the physical response. The proposed optimization framework affords different adaptively refined higher-order B-spline discretizations for individual design and state variable fields. The increased continuity of higher-order B-spline discretizations together with local refinement enables direct control over the accuracy of the representation of each field while simultaneously reducing computational cost compared to uniformly refined discretizations. A flexible mesh adaptation strategy enables local refinement based on geometric measures or physics-based error indicators. These adaptive discretization and analysis approaches are integrated into gradient-based optimization schemes, evaluating the design sensitivities using the adjoint method. Numerical studies illustrate the features of the proposed framework with static, linear elastic, multi-material, two- and three-dimensional problems. The examples provide insight into the effect of refining the design variable field on the optimization result and the convergence rate of the optimization process. Using coarse higher-order B-spline discretizations for level-set fields promotes the development of smooth designs and suppresses the emergence of small features. Moreover, adaptive mesh refinement for state variable fields results in a reduction of overall computational cost. Higher-order B-spline discretizations are especially interesting when evaluating gradients of state variable fields due to their higher inter-element continuity.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Automated contouring error detection based on supervised geometric attribute distribution models for radiation therapy: A general strategy

Purpose: One of the most critical steps in radiation therapy treatment is accurate tumor and critical organ-at-risk (OAR) contouring. Both manual and automated contouring processes are prone to errors and to a large degree of inter- and intraobserver variability. These are often due to the limitations of imaging techniques in visualizing human anatomy as well as to inherent anatomical variability among individuals. Physicians/physicists have to reverify all the radiation therapy contours of every patient before using them for treatment planning, which is tedious, laborious, and still not an error-free process. In this study, the authors developed a general strategy based on novel geometric attribute distribution (GAD) models to automatically detect radiation therapy OAR contouring errors and facilitate the current clinical workflow. Methods: Considering the radiation therapy structures’ geometric attributes (centroid, volume, and shape), the spatial relationship of neighboring structures, as well as anatomical similarity of individual contours among patients, the authors established GAD models to characterize the interstructural centroid and volume variations, and the intrastructural shape variations of each individual structure. The GAD models are scalable and deformable, and constrained by their respective principal attribute variations calculated from training sets with verified OAR contours. A new iterative weighted GAD model-fitting algorithm was developed for contouring error detection. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was employed in a unique way to optimize the model parameters to satisfy clinical requirements. A total of forty-four head-and-neck patient cases, each of which includes nine critical OAR contours, were utilized to demonstrate the proposed strategy. Twenty-nine out of these forty-four patient cases were utilized to train the inter- and intrastructural GAD models. These training data and the remaining fifteen testing data sets were separately employed to test the effectiveness of the proposed contouring error detection strategy. Results: An evaluation tool was implemented to illustrate how the proposed strategy automatically detects the radiation therapy contouring errors for a given patient and provides 3D graphical visualization of error detection results as well. The contouring error detection results were achieved with an average sensitivity of 0.954/0.906 and an average specificity of 0.901/0.909 on the centroid/volume related contouring errors of all the tested samples. As for the detection results on structural shape related contouring errors, an average sensitivity of 0.816 and an average specificity of 0.94 on all the tested samples were obtained. The promising results indicated the feasibility of the proposed strategy for the detection of contouring errors with low false detection rate. Conclusions: The proposed strategy can reliably identify contouring errors based upon inter- and intrastructural constraints derived from clinically approved contours. It holds great potential for improving the radiation therapy workflow. ROC and box plot analyses allow for analytically tuning of the system parameters to satisfy clinical requirements. Future work will focus on the improvement of strategy reliability by utilizing more training sets and additional geometric attribute constraints.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Local gravitational redshifts can bias cosmological measurements

Measurements of cosmological parameters via the distance-redshift relation usually rely on models that assume a homogenous universe. It is commonly presumed that the large-scale structure evident in our Universe has a negligible impact on the measurement if distances probed in observations are sufficiently large (compared to the scale of inhomogeneities) and are averaged over different directions on the sky. This presumption does not hold when considering the effect of the gravitational redshift caused by our local gravitational potential, which alters light coming from all distances and directions in the same way. Despite its small magnitude, this local gravitational redshift gives rise to noticeable effects in cosmological inference using SN Ia data. Assuming conservative prior knowledge of the local potential given by sampling a range of gravitational potentials at locations of Milky-Way-like galaxies identified in cosmological simulations, we show that ignoring the gravitational redshift effect in a standard data analysis leads to an additional systematic error of ∼1% in the determination of density parameters and the dark energy equation of state. We conclude that our local gravitational field affects our cosmological inference at a level that is important in future observations aiming to achieve percent-level accuracy.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Evaluating the potential of short-term instrument deployment to improve distributed wind resource assessment

Distributed wind projects, which are connected at the distribution level of an electricity system or in off-grid applications to serve specific or local energy needs, often rely solely on wind resource models to establish wind speed and energy generation expectations. Historically, anemometer loan programs have provided an affordable avenue for more accurate onsite wind resource assessment, and the lowering cost of lidar systems has shown similar advantages for more recent assessments. While a full 12 months of onsite wind measurement is the standard for correcting model-based long-term wind speed estimates for utility-scale wind farms, the time and capital investment involved in gathering onsite measurements must be reconciled with the energy needs and funding opportunities that drive expedient deployment of distributed wind projects. Much literature exists to quantify the performance of correcting long-term wind speed estimates with 1 or more years of observational data, but few studies explore the impacts of correcting with months-long observational periods. This study aims to answer the question of how short you can go in terms of the observational time period needed to make impactful improvements to model-based long-term wind speed estimates. Three algorithms, multivariable linear regression, adaptive regression splines, and regression trees, are evaluated for their skill at correcting long-term wind resource estimates from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Reanalysis version 5 (ERA5) using months-long periods of observational data from 66 locations across the US. On average, correction with even 1 month of observations provides significant improvement over the baseline ERA5 wind speed estimates and produces median bias magnitudes and relative errors within 0.22 m s −1 and 4 percentage points of the median bias magnitudes and relative errors achieved using the standard 12 months of data for correction. However, in cases when the shortest observational periods (1 to 2 months) used for correction are not well correlated with the overlapping ERA5 reference, the resultant long-term wind speed errors are worse than those produced using ERA5 without correction. Summer months, which are characterized by weaker relative wind speeds and standard deviations for most of the evaluation sites, tend to produce the worst results for long-term correction using months-long observations. The three tested algorithms perform similarly for long-term wind speed bias; however, regression trees perform notably worse than multivariable linear regression and adaptive regression splines in terms of correlation when using 6 months or less of observational data for correction. Translating the analysis to wind energy, median relative errors in the capacity factor are on average within 10 % using 1 month of training. If the observation period used for correction is not well correlated with the reference data, however, misrepresentation of the observed capacity factor can be substantial. The risk associated with poor correlation between the observed and reference datasets decreases with increasing training period length. In the worst-correlation scenarios, the median capacity factor relative errors from using 1, 3, and 6 months are within 47 %, 26 %, and 16 %, respectively.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

Implications of theoretical analysis to explore the functional core dimension in one-rod core microstructured optical fibers

A new development in optical fiber technology that has attracted interest for multitude of novel and potential applications is an all-in-silica microstructured optical fibre (MOF) with one-rod core. We aim to estimate the functional core dimension for one-rod core triangular MOF (T-MOF) from its geometrical characteristics by using an alternative analytical field model. Moreover, to scrutinize the validity of the choice of effective core dimension (by adapting V-parameter, i.e., the normalized frequency) for T-MOF, we have explored the rudimentary propagation characteristics of the T-MOF in single mode guidance realm. We made comparisons with those which are based on the experimental and numerical studies. Relative errors are also reported.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Theory of Trotter Error with Commutator Scaling

The Lie-Trotter formula, together with its higher-order generalizations, provides a simple approach to decomposing the exponential of a sum of operators. Despite significant effort, the error scaling of such product formulas remains poorly understood. We develop a theory of Trotter error that overcomes the limitations of truncating the Baker-Campbell-Hausdorff expansion. Our analysis directly exploits the commutativity of operator summands, producing tighter error bounds for both real- and imaginary-time evolutions. Whereas previous work achieves similar goals for systems with geometric locality or Lie-algebraic structure, our approach holds in general. We give a host of improved algorithms for digital quantum simulation and quantum Monte Carlo methods, nearly matching or even outperforming the best previous results. Our applications include: (i) a simulation of second-quantized plane-wave electronic structure, nearly matching the interaction-picture algorithm of Low and Wiebe; (ii) a simulation of $k$-local Hamiltonians almost with induced one-norm scaling, faster than the qubitization algorithm of Low and Chuang; (iii) a simulation of rapidly decaying power-law interactions, outperforming the Lieb-Robinson-based approach of Tran et al.; (iv) a hybrid simulation of clustered Hamiltonians, dramatically improving the result of Peng, Harrow, Ozols, and Wu; and (v) quantum Monte Carlo simulations of the transverse field Ising model and quantum ferromagnets, tightening previous analyses of Bravyi and Gosset. We obtain further speedups using the fact that product formulas can preserve the locality of the simulated system. Specifically, we show that local observables can be simulated with complexity independent of the system size for power-law interacting systems, which implies a Lieb-Robinson bound nearly matching a recent result of Tran et al. Our analysis reproduces known tight bounds for first- and second-order formulas. We further investigate the tightness of our bounds for higher-order formulas. For quantum simulation of a one-dimensional Heisenberg model with an even-odd ordering of terms, our result overestimates the complexity by only a factor of $5$. Our bound is also close to tight for power-law interactions and other orderings of terms. This suggests that our theory can accurately characterize Trotter error in terms of both the asymptotic scaling and the constant prefactor.

quantum computing, numerical analysis↗

Nanoscale deformation analysis with high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and digital image correlation

We present an application of the digital image correlation (DIC) method to high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) images for nanoscale deformation analysis. The combination of DIC and HRTEM offers both the ultrahigh spatial resolution and high displacement detection sensitivity that are not possible with other microscope-based DIC techniques. We demonstrate the accuracy and utility of the HRTEM-DIC technique through displacement and strain analysis on amorphous silicon. Two types of error sources resulting from the transmission electron microscopy (TEM) image noise and electromagnetic-lens distortions are quantitatively investigated via rigid-body translation experiments. The local and global DIC approaches are applied for the analysis of diffusion- and reaction-induced deformation fields in electrochemically lithiated amorphous silicon. As a result, the DIC technique coupled with HRTEM provides a new avenue for the deformation analysis of materials at the nanometer length scales.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗